New petition against Katsav plea deal filed with High Court

The Movement for Quality Government in Israel, along with the Israel Women's Network filed a new petition against former President Moshe Katsav's plea bargain Monday.

The petition, filed with the High Court, calls for a new hearing to review the validity of the plea, requesting an 11-judge panel decide on the matter.

A three-judge High Court panel decided to grant Katsav's plea bargain just last week.

The plea – under which the former president agreed to plead guilty to the relatively minor offenses of incident acts, using coercive measures and badgering witnesses – was endorsed by a narrow majority of three versus two.

The petition, filed by attorneys Eliad Shraga, Yifat Metzner, Dafna Holz-Lechner, Dr. Aviad Hacohen, Barak Caleb and Dafna Kiro-Cohen claimed that the main issue of the previous petitions against the plea bargain – namely, whether or not the attorney general's decision to enter a plea in the first place was a reasonable one – was not properly addressed.

The Israeli Courts' Statute, said the appellants, states that "should a ruling rendered by the Supreme Court contradict a previous ruling by the court; or should a ruling carry special significance, rigidity or precedent, an additional hearing may be warranted."

Moreover, the petition calls on the High Court to consider "the new questions of the exact definition of 'core offense' which are pivotal to the validity of the plea."

The High Court's decision to grant the plea agreement, continued the petition, "was in fact a significant ruling carrying fundamental difficulties, since it allowed the prosecutor to avoid including the grave criminal offenses, despite the fact they were backed by enough evidence to constitute a reasonable chance of conviction.

"This decision to grant the plea bargain carries a harmful impact to the public interest," ended the petition.

Women's groups slammed the High Court's decision to grant Katsav's plea, saying it would serves as a deterrent to victims considering filing similar complaints.

The State Prosecutor's Office filed an amended indictment against former President Moshe Katsav last Thursday, with the Jerusalem Magistrates' Court.

The court must further decide on the question of whether or not Katsav should also be charged with moral turpitude. The State announced it will demand the court includes the charge, which will prevent the former president form taking an active part in public life.

Katsav's attorneys, however, said that any such charge will cause them to renege on the plea.